We really do find it difficult to adhere to God’s word on a daily basis don’t we? We get up in the mornings and would like nothing more than to be the ‘perfect Christian’ all day. Sadly, it doesn’t work that way. As the pressures of our day mount, we seem to miss the mark with God more and more. Not only do we feel bad because we know we’ve done wrong, but then there’s that little voice which comes along and says,…”what sort of a Christian are you?”… and then we feel even worse. Eventually by the end of the day we give up on our walk with God because…. Really – what’s the use? – know what I mean?
Jesus allowed the Holy Spirit to stay with us after He left the earth, in order that we could have the very character of God within us. The Holy Spirit, among other things, guides and teaches us on a minute by minute basis. According to Jn 16, the Spirit also convicts us of our wrong doings (Jn.16:8). Interesting that the scripture says ‘convicts’ – not ‘makes us feel guilty’. There is a big difference between conviction and guilt. Conviction works quickly, rather like a hot poker. It gets the message through quickly and with certainty! – this is a characteristic of the Holy Spirit.
Guilt on the other hand, causes us to feel condemned and drags out for a long time – anything from a few minutes to a few years – this is not a characteristic of the Holy Spirit. Years of guilt and condemnation, if not dealt with, will have other negative effects on us.
The psalmist was clearly having the same challenge when he asked God in Psalms – “Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”(Psa.43:2). He then goes on and asks God to “send out His light and truth to lead him to Gods dwelling places” (Psa 43:3).
The Bible has some wonderful advice which we can follow when it comes to us feeling bad about accidently doing things that don’t please God – things we don’t want to do but do anyway!
So… how do we avoid the ‘guilty’ feeling…
Firstly – we must go to the Altar of God – in other words – seek God. Doesn’t matter where we are, we can seek Him right there (Psa.43:4).
Secondly – we need to remember that Jesus washed away all our sin at the cross of Calvary. The scriptures tells us he removed our sin as far as the East is from the West (Psa.103:12). This means when we meet Him, we won’t have to account for any wrong doing, provided we are sincerely sorry for what we’ve done wrong.
Thirdly – We need to fill our minds with information that is going to strengthen our relationship with God. (Watching bad movies, reading bad articles and spending time with people who will take us away from God will not point us towards God (Job 11:13-14).
Lastly – We MUST NOT listen to the little voice making us feel condemned – it’s NOT God’s voice!
If we can manage to do these things, then the scripture in job has got some wonderful news for us. It says as a result of doing those things:
• We will not feel guilty but will walk in peace and joy (Job 11:15)
• We will forget our troubles as though they are waters passing us by (Job 11:16)
• Our lives will be brighter (Job 11:17)
• We will learn to trust God more and be more secure in what we do (Job 11:18).
• Our lives will not be disturbed and people will want us to be around them (Job 11:19).
So…which is better…. Feeling guilty and downcast or forgetting our troubles as water passing by? I guess the choice is ours! – Listening to the condemning voice or going to the altar of God.
Thanks for sharing this word with me. May you be abundantly blessed until we meet with the Master again soon.
From: “…time with the Master…”